Ministry urges removal of US missile system

A Chinese Defense Ministry spokesperson on Thursday urged the United States and the Philippines to withdraw a missile system developed by the US "immediately" from the Southeast Asian country.

Wu Qian, the ministry's spokesman, made the remarks in a news conference in Beijing in response to recent comments by Philippine Defense Secretary Gilberto Teodoro Jr regarding the system.

According to local media in the Philippines, Teodoro said in November that the Philippines was seriously considering purchasing a Typhoon mid-range missile system from the US. In addition, the US has deployed the system in the Philippines under the pretext of conducting exercises earlier this year.